Yahoo Finance Elton John Celebrates 30 Years of Sobriety, Says He Would 'Be Dead' If Hadn't Asked for Help
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Elton John is celebrating 30 years of sobriety.
On Wednesday, the "Rocket Man" singer, 73, commemorated the three-decade milestone on Instagram, sharing photos of a table filled with cards from friends and family, a "30" cake and a 30-year recovery chip.
"Reflecting on the most magical day having celebrated my 30th Sobriety Birthday," he wrote. "So many lovely cards, flowers and chips from my sons, David, friends in the Program, staff at the office and in our homes."
"I'm truly a blessed man," he added. "If I hadn't finally taken the big step of asking for help 30 years ago, I'd be dead."
The Grammy and Oscar winner concluded his heartfelt post by thanking "all the people who have inspired and supported me along the way."
A post shared by Elton John (@eltonjohn) on Jul 29, 2020 at 1:55pm PDT
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John’s past struggles with drugs and alcohol have been well documented — most notably in the Taron Egerton-led biopic Rocketman, which dramatized the behind-the-scenes turmoil that led John to walk away from substances like alcohol, marijuana, and his self-described “worst best friend,” cocaine.
“The life I was leading — flying on [his legendary private plane] the Starship, living in beautiful houses, buying things left, right and center — it was not a normal life, not the sort of life I came from anyway,” John told Variety in May 2019. “I lost complete touch with that.”
"There were times I was having chest pains or staying up for three days at a time,” he added. “I used to have spasms and be found on the floor and they’d put me back to bed and half an hour later I’d be doing the same. It’s crazy.”
Mackenzie Sweetnam/WireImage Elton John
After checking himself into Chicago’s Parkside Lutheran Hospital on July 29, 1990, John managed to achieve sobriety and put his life in perspective. “My sobriety has brought me everything that I could possibly wish for,” he told Variety in 2004.
Now three decades sober, John is a proud dad to sons Elijah, 7, and Zachary, 9, whom he shares with husband David Furnish. In March, he celebrated his 73rd birthday at home with his two boys, who sang happy birthday to him.
“Grateful for the best birthday ever with my family,” John captioned the sweet video.
